Michael Vick will take over as the Philadelphia Eagles’ No. 1 quarterback, coach Andy Reid said on Tuesday, a day after he announced he would go back to Kevin Kolb.
“When someone is playing at the level Michael Vick is playing, you have to give him an opportunity,” Reid said. “This isn’t about Kevin Kolb’s play. You’re talking about Michael Vick as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.”
Vick is considered the greatest scrambling quarterback in NFL history, but he won the job over Kolb by demonstrating he no longer has a run-first mentality.
Kolb missed the last six quarters because of a concussion, and Vick played well in his absence. Kolb was cleared to practice and was expected to run the first-team offense yesterday.
“Kevin is fine. It’s not an injury-related issue,” Reid said. “It’s not about judging him. He’s going to be a championship-caliber quarterback.”
Vick threw for 175 yards and one touchdown and ran for 103 yards in a 27-20 season-opening loss to Green Bay. He had 284 yards passing and two TDs in a 35-32 win at Detroit on Sunday.
Kolb started two games in his first three seasons before he became the team’s No. 1 quarterback after Donovan McNabb was traded to Washington. Kolb struggled in the first half against the Packers in the season opener, but he became the first QB in league history to throw for 300 yards in his first two career starts last year.
Though the Eagles have been grooming Kolb to be the starter since drafting him in the second round in 2007, Vick forced Reid to make a difficult decision by playing better than he did when he was a superstar in Atlanta.
“Michael did an exceptional job and my job is to evaluate the players,” Reid said. “It’s my obligation to make the proper decision.”
Vick’s start against the Lions was his first in nearly four years. Vick has completed 63.8 percent of his passes and has posted consecutive games with a passer rating above 100 for only the second time in his career.
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